Buy Alexandria Real Estate: Brian Block -- Northern Virginia & D.C. Real Estate (RE/MAX Allegiance)

Are you wondering about Northern Virginia real estate and pondering what has sold recently?

Here's some information about the most expensive home sales in Northern Virginia (Arlington County, Alexandria City, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, and Falls Church City) for February 2010.  All information was obtained through MRIS.

Overall, there were only 24 Northern Virginia home sales topping $1 million during February 2010, half as many as sold in January.

Currently, there are 639 homes on the market in Northern Virginia with list prices topping $1 million just up from the 633 that were on the market in January.

FEBRUARY 2010'S MOST EXPENSIVE SALES

Single Family Detached Homes:

• 7426 Dulany Drive, McLean, VA 22101 -- Sold on February 12th for $2,700,000
  Built in 2008, this 6 bedroom, 4 level home is in the Elmwood Estates area of McLean.  After a long time on the market, it sold for almost $300K below the asking price.
  
  
• 7608 Southdown Road, Alexandria, VA 22308 -- Sold on February 8th for $2,400,000
  Overlooking the Potomac River, this home features a 64 foot by 14 foot flagstone terrace, 2 car garage, custom windows and doors and a library with built-in bookcases.  The house has nearly 4,500 square feet of space throughout 4 bedrooms, and 4.5 bathrooms.
  
  
• 7523 Old Dominion Drive, McLean, VA 22102 -- Sold on February 1st for $2,385,000
  This 6,680 square foot home has 7 fireplaces!  Built in 1984, it is situated on 1 acre with a gated entry.  The custom home provides a great elegant venue for entertaining in McLean.
  
  
• 10495 Hannah Farm Road, Oakton, VA 22124 -- Sold on Feburary 26th for $1,700,000
  In the Hannah Hills area of Oakton, this 5 bedroom home has a gourment kitchen, billiards area, and a pool on just over an acre.  The luxury lower level also includes a full cherry wet bar, card room, and media room.
  
  
• 8718 Woodside Court, McLean, VA 22102 -- Sold on February 23rd for $1,675,000
  On 1 3/4 acres in McLean, this Woodside Estates home was built in 2000 and has a view of Woodside Lake.
  

CLICK TO SEARCH FOR AVAILABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA 

Townhouses: 

• 1457 Hampton Ridge Drive, McLean, VA 22101 -- Sold on Feburary 26th for $928,000
  February's most expensive townhouse sale was at the Hamptons of McLean -- a townhouse built in 1988 with a two-story foyer and curved staircase and over 3,270 square feet of space.  The home has 3 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, and updated kitchen with butler's pantry, and a new roof.
  
  
• 12 Franklin Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on February 26th for $924,500
  This Ford's Landing townhouse in Old Town Alexandria overlooks the Potomac River.  It has 4 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms on 4 levels.  There's also a one car garage. 
  
  
  
• 2030 Beacon Heights Drive, Reston, VA 20191 -- Sold on February 16th for $875,000
  This large (3,237 square foot) townhouse has 5 levels and is on the waterfront on Lake Audubon in Reston.  Built in 2003, this home has a gourmet kitchen with granite counters and stainless steel appliances, a central vacuum system, security and audio systems and a custom elevator!
  
  
• 3828 N. Tazewell Street, Arlington, VA 22207 -- Sold on February 24th for $873,500
  Just two minutes away from Chain Bridge, this townhouse has 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, three fireplaces, and an elevator.  It also has hardwood floors, a wet bar, and a 1 car garage.

SEE AVAILABLE TOWNHOUSES IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Condominiums: 

• 1401 N. Oak Street #G-1, Arlington, VA 22209 -- Sold on February 22nd for $950,000
  Located at The Weslie in Rosslyn, this first floor end unit is on 3 levels with over 2,600 square feet of living space.  The 12 foot ceiling on the main level faces a 50 foot wall of glass that opens to a large patio with views of the Washington D.C. monuments.  The condo has 3 bedroom and 2.5 baths and was built in 1981.
  
  
  
• 900 N. Stafford Street #2620, Arlington, VA 22203 -- Sold on February 25th for $875,000
  This 2,370 square foot 4 bedroom condo at the Alta Vista is on 2 levels with a fantastic view facing East towards Washington D.C.  It's right above the Ballston metro stop.
  
  
• 400 Madison Street #1302, Alexandria, VA 22314 -- Sold on February 26th for $600,000
  All the rooms of this Alexandria House condo afford views of Old Town Alexandria and the Potomac River.  The complex was built in 1975, and this unit has a sixty-foot balcony, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and 2 garage parking spaces.
  
  
• 888 Quincy Street #1401, Arlington, VA 22203 -- Sold on February 23rd for $600,000
  Located at the recently built Residences at Liberty Center in Ballston, this 14th floor unit has a great view of D.C.  With 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, this condo has a square footage of 1,183, all very close to the Ballston metro.
  

SEE AVAILABLE CONDOMINIUMS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA 

Contact Brian Block, Managing Broker, REALTOR/Attorney, RE/MAX Allegiance: Licensed in Virginia & Washington D.C.  703-626-0715.
If you are interested in purchasing or selling a property in Northern Virginia including Arlington County, Alexandria City, Annandale, Burke, D.C., Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Great Falls, Lorton, McLean, Springfield, Washington D.C., contact Brian today.

It's very rare or more likely never that I've posted a picture or chart without much explanation.  However, this chart showing the return on investment over the last decade requires very little commentary.  Granted... depending upon your timing, your return may be significantly different.  However, the chart does make its point.

Please note: Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future returns.

Caveat Emptor -- that's Latin for "buyer beware." 

In today's real estate market, with the prevalence of foreclosures and short sales, I would caution that this phrase should read differently.  Since I don't speak Latin nor know anybody else who does (even though I graduated from law school and there are even more Latin terms in law than there are in real estate), I'll write it in English.

Today's phrase is:

BUYER BE VERY AWARE!

When you're buying a home, unless it's from a friend or family member, it is very unlikely that you know the seller of the home.  However, when you are purchasing a foreclosure home, you do know the seller!  It's Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, or some other well-known banking institution.

Banks are not in the business of selling real estate, but due to the foreclosure crisis, many of them have a large inventory of homes on the market.  Unlike a traditional seller, the banks do not know the condition of the property they are selling, and in most cases nobody from the bank has ever stepped foot in the house you're looking to purchase.

Banks are selling these foreclosure properties, "As Is."

While banks use their own addendums (or additional documentation for the real estate contract), the standard Regional Sales Contract for Northern Virginia and D.C. contains the following definition of "As Is":

"The Seller makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the condition of the Property or any equiment or system contained therin.  The Seller will have no obligation to make repairs to the electrical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, or any other mechanical system, equipment or fixture." 

In addition, this clause allows the seller to waive the following normal requirements:

• Property delivered free and clear of trash and debris
• Clauses pertaining to termites
• Clauses pertaining to Private Well and/or Private Sewage Systems
• Clauses pertaining to compliance with city, state or county regulations
• Clauses pertaining to compliance with Property Owner's or Condominium Owner's Assocations.

Let me emphasize again, if you're buying an "As Is" Property:

BUYER BE VERY AWARE!

However, this does not mean that you are blindly buying a home without taking any precautions.

Although you are purchasing a property "As Is" you still need to know what the definition of "As is" is (with deference to former President Bill Clinton's grand jury testimony).

You should always have a home inspection especially on a bank owned property!  Even though the banks won't necessarily fix anything or give any credit off the price for necessary repairs, at least you'll know what you're getting into with the purchase of the home.

The home inspection will enable you to find out the exact "As Is" condition of the property.  Once you are satisfied with the present condition is when you proceed with the purchase. If not, make sure the contract says that you can cancel the deal based upon the home inspection.  VERY IMPORTANT!

Even if you're not buying an "As Is" foreclosure property, I always recommend a home inspection.

Want some great news?  Who doesn't?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released an unemployment report today that examined the rates of unemployment in the Northern Virginia counties and cities.

Unless you've been living under a rock, haven't turned on the t.v., read a newspaper, been on the internet, or walked down the street in the last 6 months, you're aware that the unemployment rate in the United States has skyrocketed to the 10% region.

Well, in Northern Virginia, most areas are doing quite well when it comes to employment statistics, and some counties, like Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun are doing phenomenal -- less than half of national unemployment.

Here's a look at unemployment numbers as of December 2009:

• Arlington County -- 4% unemployment
• Fairfax County -- 4.6% unemployment
• Loudoun County -- 4.6% unemployment
• Alexandria City -- 4.8% unemployment

Even Fredericksburg VA, with its comparatively high 9.9% unemployment rate is far below many other hurting areas of the nation.

Compare the above numbers with those of some other major metropolitan areas:

• Atlanta -- 10.1% unemployment
• Chicago -- 10.6% unemployment
• Los Angeles -- 11.3% unemployment
• Tampa -- 12.4% unemployment
• Las Vegas -- 13.1% unemployment
• Detroit -- 14.8% unemployment

Click here to view D.C. & Northern Virginia unemployment numbers on an area map.

With these numbers, it's no wonder people from around the country are starting to search for homes in Northern Virginia and moving here!

Chances are that if you're looking to buy a home in the D.C. metropolitan area, you may be scared of the home prices.  Whether you're a first time homebuyer, moving up to a larger home, buying an investment property, or relocating to the D.C. area, you're spending some time and effort tracking the home prices throughout the region.  You might look at the prices of homes coming across your computer screen after doing a home search or signing up to receive listing e-mails and shriek!

As with any purchase that involves 6 (or more) digits after the dollar sign, fear most likely is weighing in to the decision-making process.

Some education about the market can help dissipate some of that fear.

D.C. Homebuyers: Take some solace in knowing that while home prices may not make the D.C. area the most affordable market, D.C. area real estate is far from being the least affordable.

According to a CNNMoney Report, here are the five Most Affordable metro areas to buy a home:

• Indianapolis
• Detroit
• Dayton, OH
• Youngstown, OH
• Akron, OH

The 5 Least Affordable Metro Areas are:

• New York City
• San Francisco
• Honolulu
• Santa Ana, CA
• Los Angeles

The report compared the median price of homes with the median household income in all the metropolitan regions to come up with the most affordable and least affordable places to purchase a home.  For example, in Indianapolis, where the median price of a home is $106,000 and the median household income is $68,100, 95.7% of median income households can afford a median priced home.  Contrast that with New York City, where the median home price is $425,000 and the median income is $64,800 -- only 19.7% can afford the median priced home!

I took a look at the D.C. area numbers.  Household income is very high in the D.C. metropolitan region - $102,700 median household income.  The average sales price of a home in the 4th quarter of 2009 was $376,188.  So many of our high salaried D.C. area residents can afford these average priced homes, even though the prices are higher than many areas of the country.

As of today, there are over 2,500 homes in Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia that could be yours for under the average price of $376,188.

Today, I found 228 homes in Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia that have been listed on the MLS and on the market for more than 365 days.  An entire year or more on the market!  29 of those homes have been actively on the market for over 2 years!  Can you imagine?  Two years of keeping your home clean, having a lockbox on the door, and leaving the house on Sundays so a REALTOR can hold an open house!

That is a very long time even in today's slower market.

While 86 of these homes are over $1 million (which you might expect to be on the market a bit longer anyway), over 60% of these long-time listings are under that price.

How do this compare to the average time for sale?  Well, of the 1,847 homes that have sold so far this year in D.C. and Northern Virginia, the average days on market was 53.

WARNING: You Don't Want Your Home on the Market Forever!

One of the first questions buyers ask is "How Long Has That Home Been on the Market?" More often than not, buyers will use this information to determine how much they wish to offer for the home.  That is, if the buyer even makes an offer at all.  The longer a home has been on the market, the less chance it will get an offer from buyers because they will often think something is wrong with the house that's been on the market for so long.  In reality, the only thing wrong with the home may be the price!

If when checking out these homes, I notice that there have been no price reductions or very small price reductions, it becomes obvious to me that the sellers are not very motivated and unlikely to negotiate.  Chances are there were some offers for the property early on, but that the sellers refused to lower their price to get the deal done and the house sold.

When working as a listing agent representing the seller of a home, I do not want my seller's home on the market for more than a year with no price reductions.  We'll often agree upfront to scheduled price reductions after set periods of time without an offer to get the home sold.  The better strategy is to just price it right at the beginning.

If you're only a casual follower of the real estate market, you've probably caught tidbits here and there on the news.  There's lots of scare stories out there: foreclosures, short sales, resetting ARMs, banks going out of business, plummeting prices, etc.

It's enough to transform you from a ready, willing and able homebuyer into a cowering, spineless, anonymous creature who'd rather hole up in a cave somewhere in the mountains of Afghanistan than take your chances at entering into the tumultuous real estate market.

Had you been planning to sell your house you may have decided to stay still or rather pull your turtleneck over your head and hide for a few years until things get sorted out.

You hear it screaming from the television, the internet sites, and the newspapers: stay away from the housing market, it's scary out there.  Yikes!  Watch out! Prices are still going down.  It could be a double dip.

Casual observers, I'm happy to report that in the D.C. area, it's not a disaster.

Au Contraire, Mon Frère!

That's French for "on the contrary, my brother!"  While I don't get to use my high school French language skills often (Spanish would have probably been a much better and more useful choice), this cute rhyming phrase works perfectly here.

According to the Washington Business Journal (WBJ) and a report by the National Association of REALTORS, housing prices in the D.C. area ROSE 3.8% from the end of 2008 to the end of 2009. 

Not what you expected or what you've been lead to believe!

The WBJ article states that in the Washington region, single-family home sales averaged prices of $306,200 compared to a price of $295,100 in the final quarter of 2008. Area condominium prices were down just 1.3 percent from a year ago to a price of $239,000.

Moreover, on a national level, in the fourth quarter, 67 of the nation's largest 151 metro areas had higher median single-family home prices.  While, it's less than half of these metro area, it does bode well for many more regions than you might have thought.

Mortgage interest rates are still very low.  The Federal Homebuyer Tax Credit is still available (though time is running out). 

For analysis and a consultation regarding your options in today's Northern Virginia and D.C. real estate market, make sure to contact a seasoned real estate professional.  That's me!

Incredible record-breaking amounts of snow that we've received in the past week have caused municipality snow removal budgets to be squeezed, road conditions to remain impassable in certain locations, large tree branches to come tumbling down, and federal government employees (and just about everyone else in the D.C. area) to remain holed up inside.

All of this has indeed affected the real estate market in Northern Virginia. 

• Many settlement companies have been closed for much of the week, so even those sales scheduled to go to settlement this week have been delayed.
  
  
• REALTORS (except perhaps those with Hummers) have been unable to show many homes; and
  
  
• People have just not been able to do much of anything except watch television, surf the internet, relax with a good book and some hot cocoa, or entertain their kids who have been out of school all week.

Nonetheless, the Northern Virginia housing market stops for nobody - not even Mother Nature.  It may slow down, and slow down significantly but it does not stop!

Here then are some statistics about sales during the snowiest week on record in Northern Virginia:

In the last 7 days (remember the snow started last Friday), there have been 71 closed sales in Northern Virginia (including the jurisdictions of Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, and Falls Church).

Additionally, 247 contracts were ratified during the past 7 days.

These numbers are quite a bit off from the previous two weeks of real estate activity in Northern Virginia which respectively saw 276 sales and 495 contracts ratified, and 287 sales and 409 ratified contracts.

I'm expecting that next week will be back to a normal pace of real estate activity (or even a slight increase due to things that were delayed from this week).

Most of the roads are cleared at this point and people are itching to get out of their homes.  I know that I'll be showing some Alexandria condos to some clients tomorrow.

The sky is blue.  The snow WILL melt.  The roads are cleared.  And the Block Real Estate Group is open for business.

You might want to hurry.  In order to qualify for the Federal Homebuyer Tax Credit, you need to ratify a contract on your new home by April 30, 2010.

Christine Bohn just posted about setting up an Active Rain meetup for the RE/MAX Convention in Orlando from Feb. 28th through March 3rd.  I'll be there as well and am looking forward to getting together with some folks I haven't yet met as well as some old friends.

Let us know if you will be attending the RE/MAX Convention.

Real estate, like any other market, is all about supply and demand.

SUPPLY:  As of February 11, 2010, there are about 425 homes on the market in Alexandria, Virginia.

DEMAND:  In the last 30 days, 101 homes sold in the City of Alexandria.  January and early February are traditionally very slow times for the Northern Virginia real estate market.  At this pace, there'd be a 4.2 month inventory of homes on the market.  That's not a lot of inventory!  However, I expect that the warmer Spring days will usher in a somewhat heated up real estate market with both more inventory on the market and more sales volume.

Here are the details about the housing inventory in Alexandria -- if you're thinking about buying a home in Alexandria or elsewhere in Northern Virginia, you might want to whisper to your sweetheart this Valentine's Day that he/she ought to read this blog.

Alexandria Virginia Single Family Homes 

63 Single Family Homes are on the market in Alexandria at an average price of $1,030,322.  The prices range from $399,900 up to $4,450,000.  There are 19 homes priced at one million dollars or more.  However, there are over 20 Alexandria single family homes priced below $700,000.

The largest concentration of homes are in the following Alexandria neighborhoods:

Beverly Hills -- 4 homes available -- Average price $914,950

Braddock Heights -- 5 homes available -- Average price $833,560

Old Town -- 5 homes available -- Average price $1,834,980

Rosemont -- 4 homes available -- Average price $1,229,725

Seminary Ridge -- 4 homes available -- Average price $1,117,250

CLICK HERE TO FIND A SINGLE FAMILY HOME IN ALEXANDRIA 

Alexandria Virginia Townhouses 

136 Townhouses are on the market in Alexandria at an average listing price of $902,458.  The range in prices for Alexandria townhouses is between $239,000 and $5.7 million.

The highest concentration of townhouses are in the following Alexandria communities:

Cameron Station -- 6 townhouses -- Average price $674,067

Fords Landing -- 5 townhouses -- Average price $1,842,600

Old Town -- 35 townhouses -- Average price $1,430,518 (note that this number is skewed a bit because of a townhouse on the market for $5.7 million and another for $5 million.  Without these two homes, the average price in Old Town is $1,194,489 -- over $236K less).

Parkfairfax -- 6 townhouses -- Average Price $315,132

Potomac Greens -- 6 townhouses -- Average price $864,917

FIND A TOWNHOUSE IN ALEXANDRIA

Alexandria Condominiums

Over 200 condos are on the market in Alexandria:

93 Garden Style condos (1-4 floors) at an Average price of $345,069

30 Mid-Rise condos (5-8 floors) at an Average price of $315,078

80 High-Rise condos (9+ floors) at an Average price of $256,675

FIND AN ALEXANDRIA CONDO